The morality of Professional gambling

[blaskoman]

Could an individual be a “professional gambler” and also be a good Christian, or is there an inherant incompatability between the two? With gambling comes the love of money-the root of all evil, and a certain measure of idolatry, among the many negatives. However, if someone can make a living at gambling and not be enslaved to the passion of this activity, is he leading a morally acceptable lifestyle with his chosen profession?

 

[Newbie2]

Could an individual be a “professional gambler” and also be a good Christian, or is there an inherant incompatability between the two? With gambling comes the love of money-the root of all evil, and a certain measure of idolatry, among the many negatives. However, if someone can make a living at gambling and not be enslaved to the passion of this activity, is he leading a morally acceptable lifestyle with his chosen profession?

Perhaps.



I suppose that gambling could be looked at as similar to playing the stock market if one is not in it to get rich. Gambling, in a way, can be looked at as part of the “entertainment” industry. If one is “talented” at it and can make a living without sacrificing other aspects of one’s responsibilities and is not risking the family’s rent/food/necessities to gamble…it’s a definite “maybe”.

 

[Catholic90]

Could an individual be a “professional gambler” and also be a good Christian, or is there an inherant incompatability between the two? With gambling comes the love of money-the root of all evil, and a certain measure of idolatry, among the many negatives. However, if someone can make a living at gambling and not be enslaved to the passion of this activity, is he leading a morally acceptable lifestyle with his chosen profession?

Gambling can be games of chance. Chance is statistics. Statistics is math. So gambling is really understanding math, probability, and a little luck - much like the stock market and investing!

My son and BIL both really enjoy math - like REALLY enjoy - my son does calculus problems for fun! :sad_yes: So once he turned 18, he could legally gamble. He is also very careful with his money, so he went with BIL and watched. He picked up some patterns, applied the math in his head, and eventually placed a few bets. He “invested” about $75 and walked away with about $300 after a few hours. Now, he also knows it does not always work this way, but I think those professional gamblers do something similar to what my son did - analyze, watch for patterns, and calculate probability. My BIL does this for fun as well. He has made quite a lot at casinos.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

In gambling as in the liquor industry, one must take care that he does not enable addicts. That is one must not lead others into sin. This is a problem if one is doing it for income in either business. The addicts are the most profitable customers in both cases. I think that much of the advertising in both industries is directed to the addict - “The one beer to have when you are having more than one”. I think the state lotteries are prime offenders in this regard.

I have also seen similar efforts in parish bingo and casino nights. The effort was more on getting them to come early and stay long than on coming to have a good time.

 

[shaky]

Could an individual be a “professional gambler” and also be a good Christian, or is there an inherant incompatability between the two? With gambling comes the love of money-the root of all evil, and a certain measure of idolatry, among the many negatives. However, if someone can make a living at gambling and not be enslaved to the passion of this activity, is he leading a morally acceptable lifestyle with his chosen profession?

Well i know how to card count at blackJack and know when to increase my bet when i know lots of A, K, Q J 10 are overdue. This Garantees Winning money everytime.
But i have had some Christians tell me this is cheating!

 

[Catholic90]

Well i know how to card count at blackJack and know when to increase my bet when i know lots of A, K, Q J 10 are overdue. This Garantees Winning money everytime.
But i have had some Christians tell me this is cheating!

It is called math!

Would these same people think it is cheating to buy low and sell high in a market?